1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to signage systems in or on pavement, concrete, flooring, and the like and such systems for pedestrian walkways and for traffic areas and parking areas, e.g. garages and parking lots; to methods for providing advertising in parking areas near such areas; and, in certain particular aspects, to such systems which are interactive.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a variety of prior art devices, systems, and methods for marking flooring and the pavement of pedestrian walkways, roadways, sidewalks, garages, and parking lots (“pavement etc.”). It is known to provide marking with a series of plain straight white or yellow lines with marking tape, marking material or paint. Reflective tape, reflectors, lights, upstanding-objects, and embedded plastic or glass objects are used as markers, e.g. to indicate lanes, runways, spaces, and turn directions. Numbered spaces with numbers on pavement are common in parking lots and parking garages. Also, pavement signage is used to mark special and reserved spaces as well as “no parking” spaces. The prior art also discloses bricks embedded in pavement bearing viewable indicia and advertising.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,211 discloses a material laid down and adhesively secured on a road surface to provide a traffic regulating sign, the material having an upper surface exposed to traffic and a plurality of sharp tips projecting above the surface for imparting good non-skid properties. The material has an upper layer adjacent to the upper surface, at least partially embedding hard particles to form sharp tips made of a polymeric resin having a high molecular cohesion such as a polyamide resin, a polyurethane resin or a polyterephthalic resin, with improved wear resistance, non-skid, and high visibility properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,878 discloses a method for imprinting permanent indicia on back-sized pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes by contacting the tape with a heat-sublimable dye source material in conjunction with a stencil or raised relief-imaged heat-conductive platen, and raising the temperature to a point sufficient to vaporize the dye, whereupon at least a portion of the dye penetrates through the backsizing to become absorbed in the flexible tape backing. The image contained on the tape is permanent, smudge-proof and abrasion-resistant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,320 discloses a measuring tape that has a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape with a minimum stretchability adapted to be permanently secured onto a suitable base, and which has imprinted thereon at least one numerical scale and a plurality of a spaced series of coded indicia for use as templates to position particular structural members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,003 discloses an imprintable tape and a method for forming and imprinting the tape which includes an opaque film portion formed from polytetrafluoroethylene and a layer of material of contrasting color laminated to the opaque film so that upon application of compressive force to a selected surface portion of the film, unique characteristics of the polytetrafluoroethylene in the opaque film cause it to become transparent within the selected surface portion and thereby form a contrasting indicia or design by the resulting exposure of the underlying tape or surface. One embodiment of the tape employs an underlying surface to which the tape is applied for forming the contrasting indicia or design exposed by compressing part of the tape. In one embodiment a contrasting colored surface is formed beneath the opaque film. In another embodiment there is an adhesive layer covered by a removable or peelable backing for securing the tape to a surface. In another embodiment there is a protective film overlying the opaque polytetrafluoroethylene film.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,373 discloses floor advertisement apparatus used in a cavity formed in the floor of a building. A lower holding layer is located and secured in the bottom of the cavity. An upper holding layer with an opening extending therethrough has a transparent layer secured to one side of the upper holding layer. The transparent layer and the upper holding layer are located in the cavity. An advertising layer is secured to the lower side of the transparent layer within the opening for viewing from above. Both of the holding layers may be magnetic material or one can be magnetic material and the other metal attracted by magnetic lines of force for removably holding the upper layer to the lower layer when the two layers are located next to each other such that the transparent layer with its advertising layer is removably held in the cavity. In another embodiment, a support layer is secured in the cavity. The transparent layer has a layer of adhesive material secured to its bottom side defining an opening which is covered by the transparent layer. The layer of adhesive material has a lower side adapted to be removably secured to the upper side of the support layer. An advertising layer can be removably located below the transparent layer within the opening or it can be secured to the bottom side of the transparent layer with the opening such that it can be viewed from above.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,940 discloses a marker and method for use on roads for locating underground utilities utilizing a flexible tile constructed of front and backing layers of fused plastic having openings for receiving screws extending into corresponding holes drilled in the road surface for holding the tile while an adhesive backing sets and for assuring affixation thereafter. Suitable symbols are formed into the tile by grinding away the front layer. All the components may be provided in a package utilizing a box or other container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,607 discloses a marked road with a roadway surface for vehicles; a first strip of road marking tape having relatively low non-skid properties and high light reflectivity joined to the upper face of the roadway surface; and another strip formed of a material having non-skid properties and a lesser light reflectivity than the first strip of road marking tape and having a lesser width than the first strip extending in longitudinal direction and adhered to the first strip equally spaced from its lateral edges so as to provide together with the first strip a composite surface formed of two spaced edge portions of the first strip of road marking tape having relatively low non-skid properties and high light reflectivity and of the other strip forming a center portion having non-skid properties and a lesser light reflectivity interposed between two spaced edge portions of said first strip. In one aspect the portions having non-skid properties are arranged in a row of spaced elements equally spaced from the lateral edges of the first strip.
The present inventor is unaware of: any system which employs parking area pavement signage as advertising; any system which uses such signage as advertising for an entity with a place of business at, adjacent, or near such a parking area; or any such system that enhances customer awareness of a particular entity (business, company, retailer, etc), its products, and/or its location. Applicant is unaware of any such system which is interactive so that a customer at a parking space may either receive prerecorded information or may communicate in real time with a person (nearby or remote), database, or website.
There has long been a need, recognized by the present inventor, for a parking area signage system that promotes customer relations and enhances customer awareness of a business entity adjacent a pedestrian walkway, traffic area or parking area. There has long been a need, recognized by the present inventor, for such a system with interactive features so that a consumer may communicate in real time with a person (or other entity or system) on site at a business entity adjacent such an area or remote therefrom.